National Malaria Prevalence Declines But Alarming In Rural Areas- Survey
A survey has shown a decline in Ghana’s overall malaria prevalence in children in nearly ten years, however, it raises concern about prevalence in rural areas.
It said prevalence in children has declined from 26.7 per cent in 2014 to 8.6 per cent in 2022.
This was contained in the 2022 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) released on April 25 marking World Malaria Day.
“Findings from the 2022 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) indicate that malaria prevalence in children aged 6 to 59 months is 8.6 per cent according to microscopy results. The malaria prevalence in rural areas (12.8%) is about three times that of urban (4.3%),” part of the report said.
Regionally, it found that half of the 16 regions recorded malaria prevalence above 10 per cent.
“Greater Accra (2.0%) has the lowest prevalence followed by Western North (4.4%) and Volta (6.4%). The regions with the highest prevalence of malaria according to microscopy results are Oti (15.0%), Upper West (13.4%), and the Upper East (12.2%) regions.”
Pregnant Women
Among Pregnant women, malaria prevalence has declined, the GSS said citing data provided by the Ghana Health Service from District Health Information Management System (DHIMS).
It declined from 3.3 per cent in 2019 to 2.4 per cent in 2022, with the highest recorded in the Oti region.
“The malaria prevalence in 2022 is highest in the Oti Region (7.0%) followed by the Savannah Region (5.4%), which are the only two regions to record prevalence more than double the national average. The lowest prevalence in pregnant women is recorded in the Greater Accra Region (0.2%).”
It added, “Overall, the total number of Outpatient Department (OPD) malaria cases recorded in DHIMS declined from 6.1 million in 2019 to 5.2 million in 2022. The East Mamprusi district in the North East Region (73,782) records the highest number of OPD malaria cases followed by Jaman North (63,776) and Jaman South (55,672) both in the Bono Region. Eight in every 10 districts (211 of 261 districts) districts have more than 10,000 OPD malaria cases in 2022.”
World Malaria Day
The day instituted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) is observed on the 25th day of April each year.
This year, it is under the theme “Time to deliver zero malaria: invest, innovate, implement”.
This year, WHO says, it will focus on the importance of reaching marginalized populations with the tools and strategies that are available.
In 2021, 619 000 died of malaria according to the WHO.
Read GSS Full Report Here: World-Malaria-Day-Press-Release-from-GSS
